The Elephantine Papyri

IDOCUMENTA ET MONUMENTA ORIENTIS ANTIQUI (DMOA)

STUDIES IN NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY AND CIVILISATION

EDITED BY

P . M . M . G . A K K E R M A N S , G . H . J . DE G E U S , E . H A E R I N C K

T H . P J . VAN DEN H O U T , M . S T O L , D . VAN D E R P L A S

V O L U M E X X I I

THE ELEPHANTINE PAPYRI IN ENGLISH

THE ELEPHANTINE PAPYRI IN ENGLISH

THREE MILLENNIA OF CROSS-CULTURAL CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

BY

BEZALEL PORTEN

With

J . Joe l Farber, Cary J. Martin, Gunter Vittmann Leslie S.B. MacCoull, Sarah Clackson

and contributions by

Simon Hopkins and Ramon Katzoff

' ' 6 8 * '

EJ. BRILL LEIDEN NEW YORK KOLN

1996

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

Typesetting by Daatz, Jerusalem

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The Elephantine papyri in English : three millennia of cross-cultural continuity and change / by Bezalel Porten, with J. J . Farber . . . [et al.].

p. cm. (Documenta et monumenta Orientis antiqui, ISSN 0169-7943 ; v. 22)

Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9004101977 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Egyptian languagePapyri, Hieratic. 2. Manuscripts, Aramaic

(Papyri)EgyptElephantine. 3. Elephantine (Egypt)Antiquities. I. Porten, Bezalel. II. Series. PJ1680.E45E45 1996 493'.dc20 96-17973

CIP

D e u t s c h e Bibl iothek - CIP-Einhei tsaufnahme

Porten, Bezalel: The Elephantine papyri in English : three millennia of cross cultural continuity and change /by Bezalel Porten. With J. J . Farber...- Leiden ; New York ; Koln : Brill, 1996

(Documenta et monumenta orientis antiqui ; Vol. 22) I S B N 90-04-10197-7

N E : G T

ISSN 0169-7943 ISBN 90 04 10197 7

Copyright 1996 by E.J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

F O R W A R D x i S I G L A A N D A B B R E V I A T I O N S x i v I N T R O D U C T I O N 1 C H R O N O L O G Y 2 8 I H I E R A T I C T E X T S [Al-10] - Giinter Vi t tmann 30-73

Int roduct ion 30 A l Currying Favor and Solicit ing Support (ca. 2200-2150 BCE) - P. Berlin 8869 32 A2 Transferr ing Possess ion of Servant (ca. 1 8 t h - 1 7 t h century BCE) - P. Berlin 10470 .. 35 A3 Mil i tary Despa tch (ca. 1840 BCE) - P. British Museum 10752 41 A4 Compla in t re B a d Honey (first half of 1 2 t h century BCE) - P. Louvre . 2 7 1 5 1 4 3 A5 Charges Agains t Several Officials (ca. 1150 BCE) - P. Turin 1887 45 A6 Protest Agains t Unjustified Tax D e m a n d s (ca. 1100 BCE) - P. Valengay 1 57 A7 Part icipat ion in Nubian Campa ign (ca. 1073 BCE) - P. Turin 1972 60 A8 Let ter from Nubian Campa ign (ca. 1073 BCE) - P. Turin 1973 64 A9 Let ter re Chi ldren and Father (ca. 1073 BCE) - P. Bibliotheque Rationale 196,111 68 A10 Medica l Prescript ions (ca. 3 r d century BCE) - P. Berlin 10456 71

II A R A M A I C T E X T S [Bl-52] - Bezalel Porten 74 -276 Int roduct ion 74 1. T h e Makkiban i t Letters [Bl-7] (late 6 t h - e a r l y 5 t h century BCE) 89-106

Bl Let ter re Garmen t s and Oil - TAD A2.1 89 B2 Let ter re 6 i Shekels , Woo l , Oil , and B e a m s - TAD A 2 .2 9 3 B3 Let ter re Welfare of Relat ive - TAD A2 .3 9 6 B4 Let ter re Skins, B e a m s , and Oil - TAD MA 99 B5 Let ter re Vessels , Oil , and a Snake Bite - TAD A2.5 102 B6 Let ter re 6$ Shekels , Woo l , and a Tr ip - TAD A2 .6 104 B7 Let ter re the Chi ldren - TAD A2.7 106

2. Misce l laneous Letters [B8-12] 107-124 B8 Salary, Garments , and Journey (first quarter of 5 t h century) - TAD A3 .3 107 B9 Transpor t ing , Bor rowing , and Sell ing (last quarter of 5 t h century) - TAD A3 .8 110 B10 F ragmenta ry Letter re a Share (November 6 , 4 2 7 BCE) - TAD A6.1 113 B l l Authorizat ion of Boa t Repai r (January 12, 411 BCE) - TAD A6 .2 115 B12 Let ter re Boat , Silver, Grain (end 5 t h - e a r l y 4 t h century BCE) - TAD A3 .10 123

3. The Jedaniah Archive [B13-22] (late 5 t h century BCE) 125-151 B13 T h e Passover Letter (419/18 BCE) - TAD A4.1 125 B14 Repor t of Conflict and Reques t for Ass is tance (late 5 t h century BCE) - TAD A 4 . 2 . . . 127 B15 Recommenda t ion to Aid T w o Benefactors (late 5 t h century BCE) - TAD A4 .3 130 B16 Impr i sonment of Jewish Leaders (last decade of 5 t h century BCE) - TAD AAA 133

v i T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S

B17 Pet i t ion for Reconst ruct ion of Temple(?) (410 BCE or slightly later) - TAD A4 .5 . . . .135 B18 F ragmenta ry Letter re Egypt ians Imprisoned (ca. 410 BCE) - TAD A4 .6 138 B19 Reques t for Let ter of Recommenda t ion (I) (November 2 5 , 4 0 7 BCE) - TAD A4.7 139 B20 Reques t for Let ter of Recommenda t ion (II) (November 25 , 407 BCE) - TADA4.8 .... 145 B21 R e c o m m e n d a t i o n for Reconstruct ion of T e m p l e (after 407 BCE) - TAD A4 .9 148 B22 Offer of Paymen t for Reconstruct ion of Temple (after 407 BCE) - TAD A4 .10 150

4. T h e Mibtah iah Archive [B23-33] (471-410 BCE) 152-201 B23 Gran t of a Buil t Wal l (September 12, 471 BCE) - TAD B2.1 152 B24 Wi thdrawal from Land (January 2, 464 BCE [night]) - TAD B2 .2 158 B25 Beques t of House to Daughter (December 1, 459 BCE) - TAD B2 .3 163 B26 Grant of Usufruct to Son-in- law (December 1 ,459 BCE) - TAD B2 .4 172 B27 F ragment from Betrothal Contract (Ca. 459 or 449 BCE) - TAD B2 .5 176 B28 D o c u m e n t of Wifehood (October 14, 449 BCE [night]) - TAD B2 .6 177 B29 Gran t of House to Daughter (November 17, 446 BCE [night]) - TAD B2 .7 184 B30 Wi thdrawal from Goods (August 26 , 440 BCE [night]) - TAD B2 .8 188 B31 Wi thdrawal from Goods (September 2-30, 420 BCE) - TAD B2.9 191 B32 Wi thdrawal from House (December 16, 416 BCE [night]) - TAD B2 .10 195 B33 Appor t ionment of Slaves (February 10, 410 BCE [night]) - TADB2.U 199

5. T h e Anan iah Arch ive [B34-46] (456-402 BCE 202-254 B34 Loan of Silver (December 13, 456 BCE [night]) - TAD B3.1 202 B35 Wi thdrawal from hyr> (July 6 , 4 5 1 BCE [night]) - TAD B3 .2 205 B36 D o c u m e n t of Wifehood (August 9, 449 BCE [night]) - TAD B3 .3 208 B37 Sale of Abandoned Property (September 14, 437 BCE [night]) - TAD B3 .4 212 B38 Beques t of Apar tmen t to Wife (October 30, 434 BCE) - TAD B3 .5 216 B39 Tes tamenta ry Manumiss ion (June 12, 427 BCE) - TAD B3 .6 220 B40 A Life Estate of Usufruct (July 1 1 , 4 2 0 BCE) - TAD B3 .7 223 B41 D o c u m e n t of Wifehood (October 2-30, 420 BCE) - TAD B3 .8 226 B42 Adopt ion (September 22/October 2 2 , 4 1 6 BCE) - TAD B3.9 234 B43 Beques t in Contempla t ion of Dea th (Nov. 25 , 404 BCE [night]) - TAD B3 .10 237 B44 D o w r y A d d e n d u m (March 9, 402 BCE) - TAD B3.11 242 B45 Sale of Apar tment to Son-in- law (December 13, 402 BCE) - TAD B3 .12 246 B46 Loan of Gra in (December 2 - 3 1 , 402 BCE) - TAD B3 .13 252

6. Misce l laneous Contracts [B47-52] (495-400 BCE) 255-267 B47 Exchange of Inherited Shares (October 22, 495 BCE) - TAD B5.1 255 B48 Loan of Silver (ca. 487 BCE) - TAD B4 .2 257 B49 Mutua l Qui tc la im (last quarter 5 t h century BCE) - TAD B5.5 259 B50 Obl iga t ion to M a k e Judicial Declarat ion (January 18, 401 BCE) - TAD B7 .2 262 B51 Debt Acknowledgmen t (June 2 1 , 400 BCE) - TAD B4 .6 264 B52 Oath Text (late 5 t h century BCE) - TAD B7 .3 266

Prosopography - Yun , Sungduk 268 III D E M O T I C T E X T S [CI-37] - Cary J. Mart in 277-385

In t roduct ion 277 1. Let ters [Cl-23] (492 BCE - 11 CE) 289-335 la . T h e E s k h n u m p e m e t Papers [CI-3] (492 BCE) 289

CI Procedures for Appoint ing a Lesonis (April 2 1 , 492 BCE) - P. Berlin 13540 290

T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S v i i

C2 A c k n o w l e d g m e n t of Receipt of M o n e y (June 7, 492 BCE) - P. Berlin 13572 292 C3 Appo in tmen t of a N e w Lesonis (December 25 , 492 BCE) - P. Berlin 13539 294 C4 Warn ing About a Del ivery of Grain (October 5, 486 BCE) - P. Loeb 1 296 C5 A Del ivery of W i n e (January 12, 303 BCE) - P. Berlin 13568 298 C6 Instruct ions Regard ing Payment (May 16, 298 BCE) - P. Berlin 15520 300

l b . T h e Paudjaemtoues Letters [C7-10] (230-229 BCE) 301 C7 T h e Remova l of Gra in (September 13, 230 BCE) - P. Berlin 13619 302 C8 Let ter from a M a n in Detent ion (November 9, 229 BCE) - P. Berlin 15516 304 C9 Let ter of Explanat ion (November 18, 229 BCE) - P. Berlin 15519 306 C10 Repor t of Misfor tunes (December 22 , 229 BCE) - P. Berlin 13579 308

lc . T h e E s k h n u m p e m e t II Papers [Cll-14] (219-205 BCE) 310 C l l Paymen t for Lesonis Appo in tmen t (August 11 , 219 BCE) - P. Berlin 13543 311 C12 Col lect ion of Taxes (April 2, 216 or March 29 , 199 BCE) - P. Berlin 15522 313 C13 Recal l of Priest F rom Alexandr ia (August 10, 216 BCE) -P. Berlin 13565 315 C14 Del ivery of S o m e M o n e y (November 9, 205 BCE) - P. Berlin 15521 317 C15 Admoni t ion F rom a Pious M a n (April 2 3 , 187 BCE) - P. Berlin 15527 319 C16 Caus ing Strife and Choos ing a Wife ( P t o l e m a i c ) - / ' . Berlin 13538 321 C17 Advis ing Conci l ia t ion ( P t o l e m a i c ) - / ' . Berlin 13544 324 C18 Feeding the Sacred Falcons (Ptolemaic) - P. Berlin 13547 326 C19 Denial of Receipt of M o n e y (Ptolemaic) - P. Berlin 13587 327 C20 Compla in t re Consul ta t ion of an Oracle ( P t o l e m a i c ) - / ' . Berlin 15607 329 C21 P romise to Pay ( P t o l e m a i c ) - / ' . Berlin 15609 330 C22 Del ivery of Cereals ( P t o l e m a i c ) - / ' . Padua 331 C23 Repor t on the Comple t ion of W o r k (March 1 1 , 1 1 CE) - P. Berlin 15518 334

2. Repor t [C24] 336 C24 Repor t on a Strike of Quar rymen (558/557 BCE) - P. Berlin 13616 336

3. Divine Communica t ions [C25-26] 338-345 C25 Oracle Ques t ion (Ptolemaic) - P. Berlin 13584 338 C26 Message from a Dei ty (Ptolemaic) - P. Dodgson 339

4. Contracts [C27-34] (537-2 BCE) 346-373 C27 Mat r imonia l Proper ty Arrangements (537 BCE) - P. Berlin 13614 346 C28 Beques t of Stipends to Daughter (Nov 24-Dec 2 3 , 510 BCE) - P. Wien D 10150 348 C29 Exchange of St ipends be tween Priests (Jan 15-Feb 13, 460) - P. Wien D 10151 351 C30 Transfer of St ipends (May 17-June 15, 349 BCE) - P. Moscow 135 356 C31 Wi thdrawal after Lawsui t (Oct. 23-Nov. 2 1 , 245 BCE) - P. Berlin 13554 360 C32 Tax-Fa rming Joint Venture (July 18-Aug 16, 236) - P. Berlin 13535+23677 363 C33 Mat r imonia l Proper ty Arrangements (Oct 12-Nov 10, 198) - P. Berlin 13593 366 C34 Transfer of House-Shares (February 22 , 2 BCE) - P. Berlin 13534 371

5. Receip t and Lists [C35-37] 374-377 C35 Receipt for M y r r h (July 21-Augus t 19, 487 BCE) - P. Berlin 13582 374 C36 List of N a m e s and Contr ibut ions (Ptolemaic) - P. Berlin 13541 376 C37 List of N a m e s (Ptolemaic) - P. Berlin 15774 377

Prosopography 378 IV G R E E K T E X T S [Dl-52] - J. Joel Farber 386-568

Introduct ion - Bezale l Porten and J. Joel Farber 386

viii T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

1. P to lemaic [Dl-10] (310-136 BCE) 407-425 D l Elegiac Dr inking Song (end of 4 t h century BCE) - BKT V.2 62 407 D2 Mat r imonia l Ar rangements (August /September , 310 BCE) - P. Eleph. 1 408 D3 Wil l (June 29-July 2 8 , 284 BCE) - P. Eleph. 2 412 D4 Appo in tmen t of a Guard ian (July 2 1 , 283 BCE) - P. Eleph. A 414 D5 Appo in tmen t of a Guard ian (February 14, 282 BCE) - P. Eleph. 3 416 D6 Account ing of an Inher i tance (March 2 3 , 281 BCE) - P. Eleph. 5 417 D7 Mil i tary Despa tch (first half of 3 r d century BCE)) - SB 1 5 1 1 1 419 D8 Pet i t ion (February 24-March 24 , 137 BCE) - BGU VI 1247 4 2 0 D9 Repor t on the Del ivery of a S u m m o n s (December 29 , 137 BCE) - BGU V I 1248 422 D10 Set t lement (January 4, 136 BCE) - BGU V I 1249 424

2. R o m a n [Dl l -17] 426-437 D l 1 Sale of a Slave (16/15 BCE) - P. Stras. 1 7 9 426 D12 Tax Receip t (September 8, 88 CE) - BGU X I V 2378 428 D13 Dis t r ibut ion of an Estate (June 16, 131 CE) - P. Wise. I 14 429 D14 Purchase of R o o m Shares (25 Apri l /13 September , 153 CE) - P. Paris 17 431 D15 Verification (after 160 CE) - SB V I 9 2 2 7 + 9 2 2 8 434 D16 Letter (late 2 n d century CE) - BGU X I V 2418 436 D17 Letter (late 3 r d century CE) - SB V I 9 2 3 0 437

3. Byzant ine [D18-52] (355-613 CE) 438-549 D18 Manumiss ion (January 12, 355 CE) - P. Edmonstone 438 D19 Petit ion (425-450 CE) - P. Leid.Z 441 D20 Sale of R o o m and Courtyard (April 26 , 493) - P. Munch. 15+P. Lond. V 1855 443 D21 Sale of a Court Wi th Easement (after 493 CE) - P. Munch. 16 447 D22 Sale of a House (March 7-15, 530 CE) - P. Lond. V 1722 451 D23 Gift in Contempla t ion of Death (ca. 540 CE) - P. Munch. S+P. Lond. V 1857 455 D24 Sale of an Earr ing (February 3 , 549 CE) - P. Lond. V 1720.. . . 459 D25 Sale of a Sympos ion (ca. 550 CE) - P. Lond. V 1734 461 D26 Debt Acknowledgmen t (January 26-February 4 , 556 CE) - P. Lond. V 1719 464 D27 Debt Acknowledgmen t (May 26-June 24 , 557 CE) - P. Lond. V 1721 4 6 6 D28 Debt Acknowledgmen t (March 27 , 573 or 558 CE) - P. Rein. II 107 467 D29 Arbitrat ion of Dispute Over Legacy (March 11 , 574 CE) - P. Munch. 1 469 D30 Antichret ic Loan (September 7, 577 CE) - P. Lond.V 1723 474 D31 Enrol lment of a N e w Recrui t (May-October 6, 578 CE) - P. Munch, 2 477 D32 Sale of House-Share (578-582 CE) - P. Lond. V 1724 480 D33 Debt Acknowledgmen t (March 6, 580 CE) - P. Munch. 3+P. Lond.V 1725 484 D34 Sale of Boa t (581 CE) - P. Munch. 4/5 + P. Lond. V 1726 486 D35 Resolut ion of Legacy Dispute (June 7? , 5 8 3 ) - P. Munch. 6+P. Lond. V 1849 491 D36 Set t lement of Legacy Dispute (June 2 3 , 583) - P. Munch. 1+P. Lond.V 1860 495 D37 Gift of Share in Contempla t ion of Dea th (March 12, 584 CE) - P. Lond. V 1729 500 D38 Wil l (August 13, 583-Augus t 12, 584 CE) - P. Lond. V 1727 503 D39 Resolut ion of Dispute Over Legacy (March 8, 585 CE) - P. Lond. V 1728 506 D40 Sale of House Shares (May 30, 585) - P. Munch. 9+P. Lond. V 1734 (protocol) 508 D41 Transfer of House-Share (August 22 , 585 CE) - P. Lond.V 1730 513 D42 Resolut ion of Dispute Over Payment (September 20 , 585 CE) - P. Lond.V 1731 .. . .515

T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S IX

L I S T O F P L A T E S P L A T E 1. Aramaic Documen t of Wifehood (TAD B2 .6 [B28]) P L A T E 2. Aramaic D o c u m e n t of Wifehood (TAD B3 .3 [B36]) P L A T E 3 . Aramaic Loan D o c u m e n t (TAD B4.2 [B48]) P L A T E 4. Demot ic Oracle (P. Dodgson [C26] P L A T E 5. Demot ic Mat r imonia l Ar rangements (P. Berlin 13614 [C27])

D43 Transfer of Share of Notes (January 28 , 586 CE) - P. Munch. 10 518 D44 Surety Bond (August 16, 586 or 601 CE) - P. Lond.V 1732 520 D45 Sale of House-Share (October 7, 586 CE) - P. Munch. 11 522 D46 Sale of House-Share (August 13, 590-Augus t 12, 591 CE) - P. Munch. 12 526 D47 Sale of Half-Share of a Courtyard (January 18, 594 CE) - P. Munch. 13 530 D48 Arbi trat ion of Dispute over Legacy (February 15, 594 CE) - P. Munch. 14 535 D49 Sale of House-Shares (March 6, 594 CE) - P. Lond. V 1733 540 D50 Sale of House-Share (late 6 t h century CE) - P. Lond. V 1735+1851 (frag.) 544 D51 L o a n o f G o l d (February 2 5 , 611 CE) - P. Lond.V 1736 546 D52 Secured Loan of Gold (February 9, 613 CE) - P. Lond. V 1737 548

Prosopography - J. Joel Farber and Andrew Wolper t 550 V C O P T I C T E X T S [El-20] - Lesl ie S.B. MacCoul l and Sarah J. Clackson 569-602

Introduct ions 569 El Let ter about a Dispute - ST 181 575 E2 Documen t about a Debt - British Library Or. 6943(12) 577 E3 Acknowledgmen t of Debt Set t lement - ST 96 579 E4 Debt Acknowledgmen t - KSB1025 581 E5 Debt Acknowledgmen t (April 4) - KSB 1024 582 E6 Debt Acknowledgmen t (July 29 , 2 n d indiction) - KSB 1026 583 E7 Loan (September 17, 5 t h indiction) - KSB I 028 584 E8 R e p a y m e n t and Debt Acknowledgmen t (May 2 5 , 1 0 t h indiction) - KSB 1 0 3 0 585 E9 Debt Acknowledgmen t (February 25 , 1 1 t h indict ion) - KSB 1027 587 E10 Debt Acknowledgmen t (September 30, 1 5 t h indiction) - KSB 1035 588 El 1 Debt Acknowledgmen t - KSB 1031 590 E12 Debt Acknowledgmen t - KSB 1032 591 E13 Debt Acknowledgmen t - KSB 1029 592 E14 Loan - 5 5 1 0 3 4 593 E15 Loan - KSB 1235 594 E16 Loan - KSB 1 0 3 3 595 E17 Debt Acknowledgmen t - ST 91 596 E18 T w o Fragmenta ry Orders (?) - Cairo Egypt ian M u s e u m J. 68678 598 E19 Apprent iceship Contract - VC 19 600 E20 F ragment of an Account of Payments - Hall p . 88 No . 5 601

VI A R A B I C T E X T S [Fl-2] - S imon Hopkins 603-607 Fl Land-Tax Agreement (August 10-September 7, 883 CE) - P. Hamburg A.P . 5 603 F2 Nupt ia l Gift Agreemen t (7/8 January, 948 CE) - P. Or. Inst. 10552 recto 605

VII L A T I N T E X T S [Gl-2] - Ranon Katzoff 608-609 Gl List of Soldiers and Let ter (second half of 3 r d century CE) - Ch.L.A. X I 4 8 1 608 G2 List of Soldiers (second half of 3 r d century CE) - Ch.LA. X I 4 8 2 609

I N D E X 610

X T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S

P L A T E 6. Greek Mat r imonia l Arrangements (P. Eleph. 1 [D2]) P L A T E 7. Greek Wil l (P. Eleph. 2 [D3]) P L A T E 8. Greek Mil i tary Despa tch ( 5 5 1 5 1 1 1 [D7]) P L A T E 9. Greek Manumis s ion (P. Edmonstone [D18]) P L A T E 10. Greek Arbitrat ion (P. Munch. 1 [D29]) P L A T E 11. Arabic Nupt ia l Agreemen t (P. Or. Inst. 10552r [F2])

Errata

A 2, note 6, line nine: Instead of "see note 32", read "see note 3". A 2, note 36, line four: Instead of"Hwi-biqf\ read "Hwi-biqt". A 2, note 43, line three: Instead of "see note 32", read "see note 3". A 2, note 57, line one: Instead of "see note 32", read "see note 3". A 4, publication section, line three: Instead of "12994", read "1994". A 5, note 38, line one: Instead of "diiw", read "dsiw". A 5, note 57, line two: Instead of "#rw", read "ntrw".

A 5, translation of Charge XVI, lines two to three: Instead of "Penanuq[et] [ . . . ] 8 8 every charge 8 9 which will be uttered [in order to prevent(?)] . 9 0 " , read "Penanuq[et] [in order to prevent(?)] 8 8 every charge 8 9 which will be uttered [.. . ] . 9 0 " A 6, note 15, line one: Instead of "yi PaaiXucr]", read "YTJ PaaiX.ua]". A 9, note 44, line one: Instead of "whs ", read "whl ". A 10, note 29, line four: Instead of "krkr, krkr,\ read "krkr, krk".

FORWARD

The twin forts, mainland Syene and the island of Elephantine, were a triple border geological, ethnic, and political. Aswan is the region of the first cataract, a home to Nubians, and a springboard for commercial and military expeditions into the south, in ancient as in modern times. Prized all over Egypt for its red granite that went into making statues, sarcophagi, and building blocks, the quarry on the east bank is noted for the 41.75 m, 1168 ton Unfinished Obelisk1 while the cliffs on the west bank display the Tombs of the Nobles, St Simeon's Monastery, and the contemporary Mausoleum of the Aga Khan. Among the significant finds on the island are the Twelfth Dynasty shrine of the divinized Hekaib, a Sixth Dynasty nomarch, the standing pillars of Alexander II in the Temple of Khnum, the Greco-Roman Khnum-eum with its gilded rams, and the Roman period Nilometer. At the time that the forerunner of the present High Dam was being built and improved (1891-1902, 1907-12, 1928-34), dealers and scholars were discovering on the ancient mounds hundreds of papyri and ostraca in a half-dozen scripts and tongues hieratic, demotic, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Arabic. 2 The Aramaic documents told of the existence of a Jewish Temple in the fifth century B C E , but its site has yet to be discovered.

This book brings together 175 of these documents, spanning three thousand years. Most of them are presented here in English translation for the first time. Each document is descriptively titled for quick reference. It is headed by a tabular listing of its vital statistics (date, size, parties, objects), introduced by a brief analytical abstract of its contents and significance, and liberally annotated with philological, legal or epistological, and general comments, and numerous cross-references. Our translations take their cue from the ancient legal scribe, who composed his document using fixed formulae and technical terms that lay ready to hand. Thus, we have employed a literal, word-for-word translation, rendering each legal or technical term the same way each time it occurs. To aid the modern reader we introduce a system of paragraphing with descriptive marginal captions for each clause or topical section at the same time that we apply superscript numeration of the lines in order to facilitate reference to the original. Unlike other anthologies of multi-lingual ancient texts, where the editor serves only as collector, I have played an active role in translating most of the documents, heavily edited several successive drafts, and worked to maintain uniformity of style and consistency of translation and annotation throughout the entire collection. The sensitive reader is thus able to trace continuity and change in cultural patterns across three millennia.

Just as the publication of the Aramaic Mibtahiah archive, acquired on the antiquities market in 1904 and published in large format in 1906, was the stimulus

1 R. Engelbach, The Aswan Obelisk (Cairo, 1922)

1 Convenient summaries are L. Habachi and H. Riad, Aswan (Cairo, 1959); J. Kamil, Upper Egypt (London,

1983), 35-49; V. Seton-Williams and P. Stocks, Blue Guide Egypt (London, 1988), 624-633.

xii FORWARD

for the German and French expeditions of 1906-1909, so my work on the Aramaic Archives from Elephantine, published in 1968, was the stimulus for this present collection. I assiduously collated every Aramaic text and in conjunction with the palaeographer Ada Yardeni have issued three (out of four) volumes of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt (1986, 1989, 1993), with Hebrew and English translation. Her keen eye has yielded many improved readings which her sure hand has validated in full-size copy. This edition serves as the basis for the Aramaic texts included here and the method of translation (literal, literate, and literary) and annotation employed there has been extended to all the other text groups in this collection.

At the same time that I was preparing the Aramaic Textbook I was meeting annually with the late George R. Hughes of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, to translate and annotate the demotic texts. After completing twenty-five documents, I fortuitously met Cary Martin, a demotist trained at the University of London. He reworked all the translations, expanded the commentary, added twelve more documents, prepared a prosopography, and wrote an introduction. 3 We corresponded extensively and met together briefly during my annual trips abroad. I painstakingly read and edited several successive drafts.

The most intimate collaboration took place with J. Joel Farber, now emeritus at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This, too, was a fortuitous nexus. It began in 1980 with Farber drawing up draft translations and commentary of the Greek texts and my editing. We then met annually for a week or so at a time, for a month each in 1989 and 1991, and for the fall of 1993, when we jointly wrote the introduction to the Greek texts. Scrupulous care was taken throughout to translate each legal phrase the same way each time and to cross-reference all occurrences. Followed up by collation of the texts in the British Museum in October, 1986 and 1987, this approach yielded the unexpected redating of five documents and the relocation of an important fragment. 4 Most significantly, the mutual stimulation generated by our close collaboration was ample warrant for a procedure that brought together two specialists from distinct but related fields. We have been additionally fortunate in obtaining helpful comments from numerous colleagues, particularly Diana Delia, James Keenan, Joseph Meleze Modrzejewski, John Oates, William Willis, and especially the late John Shelton, who reviewed the whole Greek section and whose many observations are recorded ad locum. The prosopography was prepared with the able assistance of Farber's student Andrew Wolpert.

The Fourth International Congress of Demotists that met at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago in September, 1990 was an occasion for organizing a special session on late antiquity to clarify many of the questions that arose in conjunction with the Patermouthis archive. While Farber spoke on family disputes, Genevieve Husson lectured on houses, James G. Keenan on the army, and Leslie S.B. MacCoull on Christianity.5 To expand the linguistic horizon of our anthology, we made excep-

3 P. Berlin 15520 (C6), 13619 (CI), 15516 (C8), 15519 (C9), 13543 (C l l ) , 13587 (C19), 15609 (C21); P.

Padua (C22); P. Dodgson (C26); P. Moscow 135 (C30); P. Berlin 13541 (C36), 15774 (C37). 4 J.J. Farber and B. Porten, BASP 23 (1986), 81-98.

5 Essays published in BASP 21 (1990), 111-162.

FORWARD xiii

tion to our concentration on papyri and asked MacCoull for a translation and commentary of the published Coptic ostraca. These, too, went through several drafts and a joint introduction was written together with Farber. The translation was further edited, with MacCoull's agreement, by Sarah J. Clackson of Cambridge. She added three papyri, 6 associated with the Greek Patermouthis archive, and four ostraca.7

While documents in all the above language groups appeared together in archives or in museum collections, hieratic papyri from Elephnatine were never considered a self-contained or homogeneous collection. Nonetheless, they extend the chronological horizon by some fifteen hundred years and so their inclusion was greatly to be desired. But it was not easy to find, on such short notice, a scholar capable and willing to undertake the task. Christopher Eyre of the University of Liverpool kindly supplied me with a list of documents and Gunter Vittmann of the University of Wiirzburg did the translation and commentary in record time.

At the last minute, certain Arabic and Latin documents from Elephantine/Syene came to my attention. The former were translated by Simon Hopkins and the latter were treated by Ranon Katzoff. My student Yun, Sungduk prepared the Aramaic prosopography.

The final task of editing was mine. This meant adding cross-references from one document group to another and writing an overall introduction that sought to highlight features of continuity and change.

Working intensely and individually with five different collaborators over extended periods of time has convinced me of the benefits to be gained from joint labor and extensive consultation. We are most grateful to Dr. F.Th. Dijkema of E.J. Brill Publishing House who saw right away what was not obvious to many others that three millennia of Elephantine is a significant cultural phenomenon worthy of inclusion in a single volume. It was through the admirable computer skill of Mrs. Ronit Nikolsky that the documents spanning this long period were united and formatted into camera-ready copy. Communication with Brill during this period was handled most proficiently via e-mail through Patricia Radder, Editorial Assistant for Ancient Near Eastern and Asian Studies. Special commendation is due my student-typists, especially Julie Lieb and Randal Slavens who labored so assiduously and aimed so conscientiously at the goal of zero typos. I hope we all succeeded. Finally, appreciation is expressed to various bodies who over the years extended financial assistance research funds from Franklin and Marshall College and the Hebrew University, the Federman Fund of the Hebrew University, and the Institute for the Study of Aramaic Papyri.

Bezalel Porten Jerusalem

V'rcm ,3X3 i" 15 Ab, 5756 that is July 31, 1996

6 ST 181 (El), 96 (E3), Br. Library Or. 6943(12) (E2)

7 ST 91 (E17), Egyptian Museum Cairo J. 68678 published by R. Englebach 38 (1938), 47-51 (E18), VC 19

(E19), Hall PI. 88 No 5 (E20).

SIGLA OF TRANSLATED TEXTS

B G U V I = W. Schubar t and E. Kiihn, Papyri und Ostraka der Ptolemderzeit (Berlin, 1922). B G U X I V = W . M . Brashear , Ptolemdische Urkunden aus Mumienkartonage (Berlin, 1980). B K O E = F . Hintze , "Ber l iner kopt ische Ostraka aus Elephant ine ," ZAS 104 (1977) , 97-112. B K T V = Berliner Klassikertexte, V. W. Schubar t and U. von Wi lamowi tz -Moel lendor f f , eds . ,

Griechische Dichterfragmente (Berlin, 1907). Ch .L .A . = A. B r u c k n e r and R. Mar icha l , eds . , Chartae Latinae Antquiores XI (Die t ikon-Zur ich ,

1979). S.J. C lackson , "Four Copt ic Papyr i from the Patermouthis Archive in the Bri t ish Library ," BASP 32

(1995) , 97 -116 . R. Enge lbach , " A Copt ic Ost rakon Ment ion ing Ieb (Elephant ine) ," ASAE 38 (1938) , 47-51 KSB I = M . R . M . Hasi tzka ed., Koptisches Sammelbuch I ( M P E R n. F . 23 ; Vienna , 1993). P . H a m b u r g = A. Die t r i ch , Arabischer Papyri aus der Hamburger Staats- und Universitdts-

Bibliothek (Leipzig, 1937), N o . 14. P. Leid. Z = D. Feissel and K. Worp , "La requete d 'App ion , eveque de Syene, a Theodose II: P. Leid.

Z rev ise ," OMRO 68 (1988) , 97-108 . P. Lond . V = H.I. Bel l , Greek Papyri in the British Museum V (London, 1917). P. M u n c h . = A. Heisenberg and L. Wenge r , Byzantinische Papyri der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek

Miinchen, 2 n d ed i t ion by Die te r H a g e d o r n (Stut tgar t , 1986. T h e o r ig ina l , 1914 ed i t ion is des ignated P . Monac.)

P. Or. Inst. = N. Abbot t , "Arabic Marr iage Contracts among Cop t s , " ZDMG 95 (1941) , 59-77. P . Par is = J .A. Le t ronne , W . Brune t de Pres le , and E. Egger , Notices et textes des papyrus du

Musee du Louvre et de la Bibliotheque Imperiale (Paris, 1865). P. Rein. II 107 = Paul Collart , "Les Papyrus Theodore Reinach, T o m e I I , " BIFAO 39 (1940) , 68-69. P . S t r a s . I = F . P r e i s i g k e , Griechische Papyrus der kaiserlichen Universitdts- und

Landesbibliothek zu Strassburg, I (Leipzig, 1912). P. W i s e . I = P. J. Sijpestsi jn, The Wisconsin Papyri I (Leiden, 1967) = Papyrologica Lugduno-

Batava X V I . SB = Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten. In progress since 1913. S T = W.E. Crum, Short Texts from Coptic Ostraca and Papyri (Oxford, 1921). TAD = B . P o r t e n and A. Ya rden i , Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt.

(Jerusa lem), 1986 (= TAD A) ; 1989 (= TAD B) ; 1993 (= TAD C) . V C = W.E. Crum, Varia Coptica (Aberdeen, 1939), No . 19.

ABBREVIATIONS

AAT = Agypten unci Altes Testament (Wiesbaden) AfP = Archiv fiir Papyrusforschung AgAbh - Agyptologische Abhandlungen Wiesbaden) AION = Annali dell'Istituto Universitario Orientate di Napoli AJT = The American Journal of Theology Anc. Soc. = Ancient Society (Leuven) ArOr = Archiv Orientdlni ASAE = Annates du Service des Antiquites de I'Egypte (Cairo) AV = D e u t s c h e s A r c h a o l o g i s c h e s Ins t i tu t , Ab te i lung K a i r o , Archdologische Veroffentlichungen

(Mainz) BA = Biblical Archaeologist Bal. = P .E . K a h l e , Bala'izah. Coptic texts from Deir el-Bala'izah in Upper Egypt (2 vo ls ,

London , 1954) BASOR = Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BASP = Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists BdE = Bibliotheque d'Etude (Cairo) BIFAO = Bulletin de I'Institut Franqais d'Archeologie Orientate (Cairo) BM = W.E . Crum, Catalogue of the Coptic Manuscripts in the British Museum (London, 1905) BO = Bibliotheca Orientalis (Leiden) BSEG = Bulletin de la Societe d' Egyptologie Geneve (Geneva) CAH VII /1 = The Cambridge Ancient History, V I I / 1 , ed. F .W. Walbank e.a. (Cambr idge , 1984) CdE - Chronique d'Egypte (Brussels) J. Cerny, CED = J. Cerny, Coptic Etymological Dictionary (Cambr idge , 1976) C H = Code of Hammurab i . G.R. Driver and J.C. Miles , The Babylonian Laws (Oxford, 1952-1955) CKA = S. T i m m , Das christlich-koptische Agypten in arabischer Zeit. Eine Sammlung christ-

licher Stdtten in Agypten in arabischer Zeit unter Ausschlufi von Alexandria, Kairo, des Apa-Mena-Klosters (Der Abu Mina), der Sketis (Wadi n-Natrun) und der Sinai-Region. 6 vols. (Wiesbaden , 1984-1992)

CIS = Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum W . Cla rys se , Pros. Ptol. IX = W . Cla rysse , Prosopographia Ptolemaica I X (Leuven , 1981) =

Studia Hellenistica 25 CPR VI I = H. Zi l l iacus , J. F rosen , P. Hoh t i , J. K a i m i o , M . K a i m i o eds . , Griechische Texte IV ,

(Vienna, 1979) C r u m C D = Crum, W.E. , A Coptic Dictionary (Oxford, 1939) Demot. Nb. = Demotisches Namenbuch, ed. E. Luddeckens et al. (Wiesbaden, 1980-) Diet. = A. Berger , Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law (Philadelphia, 1953) W. Er ichsen, Glossar = W. Erichsen, Demotisches Glossar (Copenhagen, 1954) FIRA III = Pontes luris Romani Antejustiniani, pars tertia, Negotia, ed. V. Arang io-Ruiz ( 2 n d ed.;

F lorence 1943. Repr inted Florence, 1969) A. Gardiner , Grammar = A.H. Gardiner , Egyptian Grammar, 3 r d edition (Oxford, 1957) GM = Gottinger Miszellen. Beitrage zur dgyptologischen Diskussion (Gott ingen) G. Husson , OIKIA = G. Husson , OIKIA, Le vocabulaire de las maison privee en Egypte d'apres

les papyrus grecs (Paris, 1983)

xvi ABBREVIATIONS

G. Husson , " H o u s e s " = G. Husson , "Houses in Syene in the Patermouthis Arch ive , " BASP 21 (1990) , 123-136

Hall = H.R. Hal l , Coptic and Greek Texts of the Christian Period from Ostraca, Stelae etc in the British Museum (London, 1905)

Heuser, P N = G. Heuse r , Die Personennamen der Kopten. I Untersuchungen (S tud ien zur Epigraphik und Papyruskunde 1.2. Leipzig , 1929)

HSCP = Harvard Studies in Comparative Philology (Boston) H . -W. = A. H e i s e n b e r g and L. W e n g e r , Byzantinische Papyri der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek

Munchen (Leipzig, 1914) ILR = Israel Law Review (Jerusalem) IOS = Israel Oriental Studies J AOS = Journal of the American Oriental Society JARCE = Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (New York) JEA = Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (London) JESHO = Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (Leiden) JJP = Journal of Juristic Papyrology JNES = Journal of Near Eastern Studies (Chicago) JRAS = Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (London) JRS = Journal of Roman Studies JS = John Shel ton in a personal communica t ion to the editor JSSEA = Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities (Toronto) KAI = H. D o n n e r and W . Roll ig, Kanaandische und aramdische Inschriften (Wiesbaden, 1968) LA = W. He lck and E. Otto, Lexicon der Agyptologie (Wiesbaden, 1975-) Late Ramesside Letters = see bibl iography for A 7 (J. Cerny; E.F. Wente) L E = L a w s of Eshnuna . LGRE = R. Taubensch lag , The Law of Greco-Roman Egypt in the Light of the Papyri, ( 2 n d ed.;

W a r s a w , 1955) LRE = A . H . M . Jones , The Later Roman Empire, 284-602 (Norman, 1964) LSJ = H.G. Liddel l , R. Scott , and H.S . Jones , A Greek-English Lexicon ( 9 t h edit ion; Oxford, 1940),

with Supplement by E.A. Barker (Oxford, 1968) MacCou l l = L .S .B. MacCou l l , "Chris t iani ty at Syene/Elephant ine/Phi lae ," BASP 27 (1990) 151-162 MAI = Memoires presentes par divers savants a VAcademie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres M A L = Midd le Assyr ian Laws . G.R. Driver and J.C. Miles , The Assyrian Laws (Oxford, 1935) MAS = Munchner Agyptologische Studien (Munich - Berl in) Maspe ro , Org. = J. Maspe ro , Organisation militaire de I'Egypte byzantine (Paris, 1912) MD(A)IK = Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts Kairo (Mainz) Mit te is , Chrest. = L. Mit teis and U. Wilcken, Grundzilge und Chrestomathie de Papyruskunde II , 2

(Leiden, 1912) OBO = Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis (Freiburg [Switzerland] - Got t ingen) OLA = Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta (Louvain) OLP = Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica (Louvain) OMH = E. Stefanski and M . Lichtheim, Coptic Ostraca from Medinet Habu (Universi ty of Chicago

Oriental Insti tute publ icat ion 7 1 ; Chicago, 1952) OMRO = Oudheidkondige Mededelingen uit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te Leiden (Leiden) O. Wilck. = U. Wi lcken , Griechische Ostraka aus Aegypten und Nubien (2 vols . ; Leipzig/Ber l in ,

1899) Pes tman = P. W. Pes tman , The New Papyrological Primer ( 2 n d ed; Leiden, 1994) P. Flor. X I X = M . Capasso , G. Messer i , R. Pintaudi eds , Miscellanea papyrologica in occasione

del bicentenario dell'edizione della Charta Borgiana (Florence, 1990) P. Oxy. =The Oxyrhynchus Papyri (London, 1898-)

ABBREVIATIONS xvii

Pre is igke , WB - F . Pre is igke and E. Kiess l ing , Worterbuch der griechischen Papyrusurkunden (Berlin, 1925-1931) , in progress + two supplements

PSBA = Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology P. Sta. Xyla = B.G. Mandi la ras , P. Sta. Xyla. The Byzantine papyri of the Greek Papyrological

Society vol. 1 (Athens , 1993) H. R a n k e , Personennamen = H. Ranke , Die dgyptischen Personennamen, three v o l u m e s (Gliick-

stadt, 1935-1977) RB = Revue Biblique RdE = Revue d'Egyptologie (Paris) REG = Revue des etudes grecques RES = Repertoire d'epigraphie semitique (Paris) RIDA = Revue Internationale des Droits de VAntiquite (Brussels) RS = Revue Semitique. RSO = Rivista di Studi Orientali (Rome) SAK = Studien zur altdgyptischen Kultur (Hamburg) SAOC = Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization (Chicago) SEL = Studi epigrafici e linguistici Select Papyri = A. S. Hunt and C. C. Edgar , Select Papyri (London, 1932) S P B M = H.I. Bell , "Syene Papyr i in the Brit ish M u s e u m , " Klio 13 (1913) 160-174 S T 439 = L. S. B . MacCou l l , "Fur ther Notes on S T 439 (= P. Lond. V. 17 r 20v)," ZPE 96 (1993) ,

229-234 plus plate V I TSBA = Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology UPZII = U. Wi lcken , Urkunden der Ptolemderzeit (dltere Funde), II , Papyri aus Oberdgypten

(Berlin, 1957) VT = Vetus Testamentum Wb = A. E r m a n and H. Grapow, Worterbuch der dgyptischen Sprache (Berlin, 1928-1963) Wolff = H. J. Wolff, Das Recht der griechischen Papyri Agyptens (Munich , 1978), II WZKM = Wiener Zeitschrift fiir die Kunde des Morgenlandes ZAS = Zeitschrift fiir dgyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde (Berlin - Leipzig) ZAW = Zeitschrift fiir die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft K.-Th. Zauzich , Agyptische Handschriften = K.-Th. Zauzich , Agyptische Handschriften, 2 (Wies

baden, 1971) K.-Th. Zauzich , DPB I = K.-Th. Zauzich , Demotische Papyri aus den Staatlichen Museen zu Ber

lin, I, Papyri von der Insel Elephantine (Berlin, 1978) K.-Th. Zauz ich , DPB III = K. -Th. Zauz ich , Demotische Papyri aus den Staatlichen Museen zu

Berlin, III, Papyri von der Insel Elephantine (Berlin, 1993) ZPE = Zeitschrift fiir Papyrologie und Epigraphik

{ } = word(s) redundant ly writ ten by the scribe < > = word(s) supplied by editor on the assumpt ion they were unintentionally omit ted by the scribe ( ) = resolut ion of a symbol or abbreviat ion; also used for whole Engl ish words suppl ied by editor to

comple te the sense.

INTRODUCTION

Discovery

The papyrus (sc)roll was in Egypt what the clay tablet was in Mesopotamia the main material on which were written matters secular and sacred, mundane and magnificent, evanescent and everlasting. The papyrus reed continues to grow in the marshes of the Nile and is manufactured into sheets which are painted with ancient Egyptian scenes and sold in abundance to eager tourists. In Egypt's dry climate, papyrus, like the pyramids, seems to last forever. Scavenging the land for ancient papyrus engaged peasant, dealer, and scholar as vast amounts of material found their way into the leading museums and libraries of the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Though the island of Elephantine, opposite Aswan (ancient Syene), did not yield the most numerous texts it did yield documents in no less than seven languages and scripts hieratic, Aramaic, demotic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Arabic.

For almost 90 years (1815-1904) individual pieces from Elephantine made their way into the hands of travelers, collectors, dealers, scholars, and museums. Italy was in the forefront of this process through the vigorous activities of the legendary Giovanni Battista Belzoni and Bernardino Drovetti. In 1819 some Aramaic letters and a demotic letter acquired by Belzoni were presented to the Museo Civico di Padova 1 and in 1824 three hieratic pieces arrived in Turin as part of the Drovetti Collection.2 Their find site is unknown but the first is a charge sheet against the Elephantine Khnum priests and the latter two belong to the Butehamun correspondence and were probably sent from Elephantine. A third letter belonging to that correspondence was bought in 1817 or 1818 by Frederic Cailliaud for the Bibliotheque Natio-nale 3 and in 1821 the library acquired a Greek conveyance document from a traveler named Casati. 4 In 1828 the famous merchant and Swedish consul Giovanni Anastasi acquired, allegedly at Philae but presumably at Elephantine, on behalf of the Rijks-museum van Oudheden in Leiden, a 5 t h century Greek petition to Emperor Theodo-sius. 5 While these pieces became known, respectively, by the names of the acquiring

1 E. Bresciani, RSO 35 (1960), 11-24 = Padua 1 (TAD A3.3 [B8) -3 ; E. Bresciani, RSO 37 (1962), 161-165 =

P. Padua (C22). 2 T.E. Peet, JEA 10 (1924), 116-127 = P. Turin 1887 (A5); J. Cerny, Late Ramesside Letters (Brussels,

1939), 2-5, 7-8 = P. Turin 1972-1973 (A7-8). 3 J. Cerny, Late Ramesside Letters, xv = P. Bibliotheque Nationale 196,111 (A9).

4 P. Paris 17(D14).

5 D. Feissel and K.A. Worp, OMRO 68 (1988), 97-108 = P. Leiden Z(D19).

2 I N T R O D U C T I O N

museums or museum locations (P. Turin, P. Bibliotheque Nationale, P. Paris, P. Leiden), other pieces remained in the hands of private collectors and carried the names of their original owners. A Greek manumission document was acquired in 1819 by Sir Archibald Edmonstone and is still in the hands of a private collector.6 A Ramesside hieratic letter from the collection of the Duke of Valencay, now in the private collection of Jean Morel in the chateau of Fins, parish of Dun le Poelier, Indre, France, may have been acquired originally by Count Eustache Tyszkiewicz in 1862-63. 7 In January, 1881 Elkanah Armitage acquired a demotic papyrus on Elephantine which he presented to Aquila Dodgson. 8 And so we have P. Edmonstone, P. Valengay, and P. Dodgson, even though the latter has long since passed into the hands of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

The really big finds were made in the last decade of the 19 t h and first decade of the 2 0 t h century, both by purchase and excavation, and major collections of papyri and/or ostraca are now in Berlin, Brooklyn, Cairo, London, Munich, and Paris. Each acquisition is a story unto itself. In the case of Brooklyn, the first turned out to be last. For the period January 26-February 13, 1903 the American Egyptologist and collector Charles Edwin Wilbour wrote in his diary "all these pap. from Kom, shown me by three separate women at different times." 9 These included a dozen Aramaic documents from the Anani archive, 1 0 but Wilbour died in 1897 and they did not pass into the hands of the Brooklyn Museum until fifty years later when his daughter Theodora passed away, and were only published in 1953. Meanwhile, other papyri, Aramaic and Greek, continued to turn up on the antiquities market, at first singly, and then as whole archives. The German scholars Reitzenstein and Wilhelm Spiegel-berg acquired the first identifiable Aramaic papyrus from Elephantine in 1898-99 and presented it to the (now-named) Bibliotheque Nationale et Universitaire of Strasbourg. 1 1 Shortly thereafter, in January, 1901 the English scholar Archibald Henry Sayce "rescued," as he put it, from the hands of sebakh diggers an Aramaic papyrus, broken in three parts, and three Aramaic ostraca 1 2 which he donated to the Bodleian Library in Oxford. 1 3 He encouraged the Director General of the Antiquities Service, Gaston Maspero to excavate on the mound in search for more Aramaic texts and a brief dig was undertaken in the spring of 1904, resulting in the discovery of Greek and demotic fragments but no Aramaic material. At the same time, the British benefactors Lady William Cecil and Mr. (later Sir) Robert Mond acquired from a dealer in Aswan eleven Aramaic papyri from the Mibtahiah archive. Mond had intended to present them to the British Museum but was prevailed upon by Howard Carter, Inspector of Antiquities for Upper Egypt, to give them to the Egyptian

6 R.S. Bagnall and K.A. Worp, BASP 15 (1978), 235 236 = P. Edmonstone (D18).

7 M. Dewachter, "L'egypte dans les collections de l ' lndre," Carobrias 4 (Chabris, 1981), 13, 20-21 = P.

Valengay II (A6). 8 F. LI. Griffith, PSBA 31 (1909), 100-101 = P. Dodgson (C26).

9 E.G. Kraeling, The Brooklyn Museum Aramaic Papyri (New Haven, 1953), 10 1 0

TAD B3.2-13 (B3546). 1 1 J. Euting, MAI Series 1,11/2 (1903), 297-311 = TAD A4.5 (B17).

1 2 The Expositor Series 8, 37/2, 97

1 3 A.E. Cowley, PSBA 25 (1903), 202-208 = TAD B4.2 (B48).

I N T R O D U C T I O N 3

Museum in Cairo, which now has nine of these documents. 1 4 The tenth was acquired by the Bodleian. 1 5 Their publication in large format in 1906 by Sayce and Arthur Ernest Cowley 1 6 caused a sensation and led to an intensive scholarly search for more Aramaic papyri. In this race the Germans were the big winners and the French came away with a consolation prize.

When one speaks of Elephantine papyri, one automatically thinks of the Staatliche (formerly Koniglichen) Museen zu Berlin since it has the largest collection, with texts in all of the representative languages. Early, and even later, acquisitions were made through purchase. One was at Luxor through Abd el-Megid of a bilingual family archive which included three Greek legal texts 1 7 and an important demotic matrimonial document. In 1896 three hieratic papyri of the Sixth Dynasty were likewise acquired at Luxor 1 8 and the early 1930's saw the acquisition of a unique hieratic leather document. 1 9 While Sayce had believed that the Cecil-Mond papyri were discovered at Assuan (as the name was then spelled), Otto Rubensohn of the Berlin Museum felt that they were found on the island. He won the confidence of the dealer and sebakh diggers and was led to the true find spot at the western edge of the mound. 2 0 Rubensohn quickly sought and received from Gaston Maspero excavation rights at the site. The Germans worked at Elephantine for three seasons, two under the direction of Rubensohn (January 30-March 3, 1906; December 10, 1906-February 22, 1907) and the third under Friedrich Zucker (October 18, 1907-January 2, 1908). On December 29, 1906, the French stepped in and were assigned by Maspero the eastern side of the mound. They conducted four campaigns, the first two under the direction of Charles Clermont-Ganneau (four months during the winter of 1906-1907 and five months during the winter of 1907-1908), the third under Joseph-Etienne Gautier (five months during the winter of 1908-1909), and the fourth under Jean Cledat (four months in the winter of 1910-1911). Both expeditions kept daily records and so for the first time there was a scholarly account of excavated Elephantine papyri. The German report was published by Wolfgang Miiller in 1980-82. 2 1 The French papers were deposited in the Academic des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres of the Institut de France in Paris and only occasional selections have been published. 2 2

The daily logs of the German campaigns reported the discovery of papyri and ostraca, but made no exact record of their locus, so that, with only a few exceptions, it is not possible to say in what context any particular piece was found. To the credit of the German scholars is the alacrity with which they published the Aramaic, and

1 4 TAD B2.2-4, 6-11 (B24-26,28-33).

1 5 TAD B2.1 (B23).

1 6 AramaicPapyri Discovered at Assuan (London, 1906).

1 7 BGU VI 1247 = P. Berlin 11307 (D8), 1248 = 11306 (D9), 1249 = 11309 (D10).

1 8 Hieratische Papyrus aus den Koniglichen Museen zu Berlin 3 (Leipzig, 1911) = P. Berlin 8869 (A 1),

9010,10523. 1 9

A.H. Gardiner apud P.C. Smither, JEA 34 (1948), 31-34 = P. Berlin 10470 (A2). 2 0

W. Honroth, O. Rubensohn, F. Zucker, ZAS 46 (1909), 14. 2 1

Forschungen und Berichte 20/21, 22 (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Berlin, 1980,1982), 75-88, 7-50. 2 2 J . - B . Chabot, Journal des Savants (1944), 87-92, 136-142.


some of the Greek, papyri; but most of the demotic, hieratic, and Coptic texts still (1996) await publication. Demotic papyri were discovered on the very first day of work and then every day for more than a week thereafter. On February 12, 1906 they found in a 32 cm tall oval jar in a house on the southwestern edge of the mound five Greek rolls , 2 3 four of which were wrapped in a papyrus on which was written a drinking song; 2 4 a second find was made on February 18. The first Aramaic papyri were discovered on New Years day, 1907 in the rubble of a room at the northern edge of the mound, a half meter beneath the surface. Three pieces, 2 5 historically the most significant of all the Aramaic documents, were published the same year by Eduard Sachau. 2 6 In his final publication of 1911, with full commentary and life-size plates, he juxtaposed a fourth piece 2 7 that undoubtedly belonged to the same subject, but judging by its acquisition number (P. Berlin 13472) was not found together with the three original pieces (P. Berlin 13495-13497). 2 8 The latter were found adjacent to the spot where the earlier Mibtahiah family archive had been found, but where was the former found and why was it separated from its related documents? On almost every other day during the next two weeks of January, Rubensohn reported the discovery of Aramaic papyri in the same northern house complex, which he dubbed the "Aramaic quarter." But only once or twice, when the piece is distinctive, can we relate the journal entry to a published item. Thus on January 9 he discovered what turned out to be the only tied and sealed Aramaic document of the excavation, a loan contract 2 9 that we have associated with the Ananiah archive. 3 0 Altogether sixty-one inventoried papyri, several hundred fragments, numerous ostraca and jar inscriptions were uncovered in this second campaign. In 1907 nine Greek and demotic pieces, including two contained herein, 3 1 were transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 3 2 and on May 1, 1912 most of the Aramaic papyri and some of the ostraca and jar inscriptions, and a Greek fragment, 3 3 were transferred there and all were given new inventory numbers. Of the eighteen Aramaic pieces from the Rubensohn excavations included in this collection, eight and one-half are in Berlin 3 4 and nine and one-half are in Cairo. 3 5 Of the pieces translated herein, two of

l i P . Eleph. l -5(D2-6). 2 4

The four were P. Eleph. 1-4 (D2-5) and the wrapping was BKT V.2 62 (Dl). 2 5

TAD A4.7-9 (B19-21). 2 6

Drei aramdische Papyrusurkimden aus Elephantine (second printing. Berlin, 1908). 1 1

TAD A4.10(B22). 2 8

E. Sachau, Aramdische Papyrus und Ostraka aus einer jiidischen Militar-Kolonie zu Elephantine (Leipzig, 1911).

2 9 TAD B3.1 (B34) = E. Sachau, Aramdische Papyrus, PI. 28.

3 0 TAD B3.1-13(B34-46).

3 1 P. Eleph. 3 (= Cairo J. 39461 and SR2938), 4 (D5-4).

" W. Muller, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: Forschungen und Berichte 20/21 (Berlin, 1980), 79-80. 3 3

Published by Sachau along with this letter were two small finger-nail size fragments, the "front" of one of which was believed to have Aramaic writing. Both the presence of Aramaic and the relation of the fragments to the larger piece are uncertain and the piece belongs with the Greek papyri. It appeared in SB I 5111, was reproduced by A.E. Cowley, Aramaic Papyri, No. 30 and bears the Cairo numbers SR3463 = J. 43500 (D7).

34TAD A3.10 (B12 [published in 1970]); 4.1 (B13), 4.4 (B16 [Cowley 56]), 4.6-7 (B18-19), 4.9 (B21); B5.1 (B47); 4 .6 (B51 ) ;7 .3 (B52) .

3 5 TAD A3.8 (B9); 6.1-2 (B10-ll);4.2-4 (B14-16 [Cowley 34]), 4.8 (B20), 4.10 (B22); B5.5 (B49); 7.2 (B50).


the Coptic ostraca were known to have been found during the first Rubensohn campaign; 3 6 three Coptic ostraca, 3 7 at least fifteen of the demotic pieces, 3 8 and two Latin fragments 3 9 came from Rubensohn's second campaign; and two Greek papyri came from the Zucker campaign. 4 0 The discovery date of another ten demotic papyri, 4 1 the hieratic medical papyrus, 4 2 and eight Coptic ostraca 4 3 is uncertain.

Digging on the eastern side of the mound, the French discovered several hundred Aramaic, demotic, Greek, Coptic, and Arabic ostraca,4* five Greek papyri of the Roman period now in the Academie des Inscriptions, and in 1907 a hieratic papyrus ("near the wall of the room of the rams and near the place where we found statues") of the Twentieth Dynasty accessioned by the Louvre in December, 1975. The ostraca are divided between the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris. Prior to the Clermont-Ganneau excavations a big collection of Greek and demotic papyri were acquired by Theodore Reinach in 1901/1902 and these are now in the Sorbonne. One is an IOU of a blacksmith from Syene. 4 5

The British Museum acquired Elephantine ostraca from the Rev. Greville Chester in the years 1875, 1876 (two Aramaic) 4 6 and after 1877 (Coptic). 4 7 Further accessions came with the discovery in 1898 by James Edward Quibell in the Memphis Ramesseum of the Middle Kingdom hieratic "Semna Despatches," one of which was sent from Elephantine. 4 8 While the representatives of the Konigliche Museen in Berlin and the Academie des Inscriptons in Paris were hard at work excavating for papyri, the British and Bavarians bought between them thirty-two documents from the Byzantine Patermouthis family archive. 4 9 More than half were acquired, apparently in Luxor, by Robert de Rustafjaell5 0 for the British Museum in February 1907, 5 1 while the other half was purchased in Cairo for the Bavarian Konigliche Hof-und Staatsbibliothek in Munich at the end of 1908 by Friedrich Zucker, who had

3 6 F. Hintze, ZAS 104 (1977), 102, 108 = KSB 1028 (E7), 1034 (E14).

3 7 F. Hintze, ZAS 104 (1977), 101, 104, 107 = KSB I 027 (E9), I 029 (El3) I 033 (E16)

3 8 P. Berlin 13540 (CI), 13572 (C2), 13539 (C3), 13568 (C5), 13579 (C10) 13543 (CI 1) 13538 (C16)

13544 (C17), 13547 (C18), 13587 (C19), 13584 (C25), 13554 (C31), 13534 (C34) 'l3582 (C35), 13541 (C36). 39Ch.L.A. XI481-482 (Gl-2). 4 0 P . Berlin 21690 = BGU XIV 2378 (D12), P. Berlin 21738 = BGU XIV 2418 (D16) 4 1

P. Berlin 15520 (C6), 13619 (C7), 15516 (C8), 15519 (C9), 15521 (C14), 15527 (C15), 15523 (C23), 13616 (C24), 13614 (C27), 15774 (C37).

4 2 W. Westendorf, Festschrift zum 150 Jahrigen Bestehen des Berliner Agyptischer Museums (Berlin,

1974), 247-254 = P. Berlin 10456 (A10). 4 3

KSB I 024-026 (E4-6), I 030-032 (E8, 11-12), I 035 (E10), I 235 (E15). 4 4

R. Engelbach, ASAE 38 (1938), 47. 4 5

P. Reinll 107 (D28). 4 6

CIS II/l 138-139 (not published here). 4 7

Information from M. Bierbriar of the Museum. A*JEA 31 (1945), 3-10 = P. BM 10752, rt. 4 (A3).

4 9 D20-27, 29-52.

5 0 The Light of Egypt (London, 1909), 3-4.

5 1 P. London V 1720-1737 plus many fragments (D20, 22-27, 30, 32-42,44, 49-52).


excavated at Elephantine earlier that year. 5 2 As it turned out, the number of texts was less than the sum of its parts, since several documents had come apart and half or so of a papyrus went to London, while the other part ended up in Munich. 5 3 Rustafjaell also acquired Coptic papyri at the same time and these are now in the British Library. 5 4

Besides the major Elephantine collections in Berlin, Brooklyn, Cairo, and Paris, individual pieces were acquired by almost a dozen museums and libraries stretching from Moscow to Chicago. In 1909 the Pushkin Museum in Moscow acquired a demotic papyrus as part of the collection of the Egyptologist Vladimir S. Goleni-scheff.5 5 The Papyrussammlung der Osterreichischen Nationalbibliothek in Vienna acquired, probably from Jakob Krall in 1899, four demotic pieces, two of which are reproduced here. 5 6 A batch of Arabic papyri were acquired by the Staats- und Uni-versitatsbibliothek of Hamburg in 1910/1911 and one is published here. 5 7 One of the Greek papyri in the Bibliotheque Nationale et Universitare de Strasbourg was written in Syene. 5 8 In 1920 James Henry Breasted purchased from Mohareb Todrous at Luxor for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago an Arabic reddish brown leather (parchment). 5 9 In January, 1927 Spiegelberg acquired for the Staatliche Sammlung Agyptischer Kunst in Munich a demotic papyrus which became known by the name of the benefactor Dr. James Loeb. 6 0 The Bristol Museum and Art Gallery acquired a Coptic ostracon from F.F. Tuckett in 1930. 6 1 In Oxford an Aramaic papyrus from the Cecil-Mond acquisition was deposited in the Bodleian Library 6 2 while Sayce gave it a Coptic ostracon in 1914; 6 3 the demotic P. Dodgson was presented to the Ashmolean Museum in 1932 by the children of the owner. 6 4 In November, 1945 Sami Gabri discovered in Tuna el-Gebel (Hermopolis West) eight Aramaic letters which were deposited in the Department of Archaeology of the

5 2 Byzantinische Papyri in der K. Hof- und Staatsbibliothek zu Munchen (Leipzig, 1914; 2 n d edition by

Dieter Hagedorn. Stuttgart, 1986.) = P. Munch 1-16 (D20-21, 23, 29 ,31 . 33-36, 40 ,43 , 4548) . 5 3

P. Munch \5+P. Lond. V 1855 (D20), P. Munch S+P. Lond.V 1857 (D23), P. Munch. 3+P. Lond.V 1725 (D32), P. Munch. 4/5+P. Lond.V 1726 (D34), P. Munch. 6+P. Lond. V 1849 (D35), P. Munch 1+P. Lond. V 1860 (D36). P. Munch 9+P. Lond. V 1734 (protocol) (D41).

5 4 British Library Or. 6943(2-5) (El), 6943(12) (E2), 6943(1) (E3). See S.J. Clackson, BASP 32 (1995), 97.

5 5 M. Malinine, RdE 26 (1974), 34-51 =P. Moscow 135 (C30).

5 6 H. Loebenstein in Festschrift zum 100-jahrigen Bestehen der Papyrussammlung der ONB PAPYRUS

ERZ-HERZOG RAINER (Vienna, 1983), 15-16 = P. Wien D 10150-10151 (C28-29). Reference supplied by Hermann Harrauer.

5 7 A. Dietrich, Arabische Papyri aus der Hamburger Staats- und Universitats-Bibliothek (Leipzig, 1937

[Abhandlungen fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes XXII/3]), No. 14 = P. Hamburg A.P. 5 (Fl) . 5 8

Griechische Papyrus der kaiserlichen Universitats- und Landesbibliothek zu Strassburg (Leipzig, 1912), 220-224 = P. Stras. 179 ( D I D .

5 9 N. Abbot, ZDMG 95 (1941), 59-81 = P. Or. Inst. 10552 r (F2).

6 0 W. Spiegelberg, Drei demotische Schreiben aus der Korrespondenz des Pherendates (Berlin, 1928), 3,

13-20 = P. Loeb\ (C4). 6 1

VC 19(E19). 6 2

TAD B2.1 (B23). 6 3

.ST 91 (E17). 6 4

F. de Cenival, RdE 38 (1987), 3 = P. Ashmolean Museum Oxford 1932-1159 (C26); communication of Helen Whitehouse (1 March, 1996).


University of Cairo.65 In March/April, 1926 Bernard P. Grenfell and Francis W. Kelsey acquired seventy-seven Greek papyri, including one from Elephantine, 6 6 for the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Publication

Altogether there are 175 documents in this collection 10 hieratic, 52 Aramaic, 37 demotic, 52 Greek, 20 Coptic, 2 Arabic, and 2 Latin. Many pieces appear here for the first time in English translation and substantive commentary. Different disciplines have different traditions of publication and not all the texts received equal treatment by their initial editors, nor were they all published with due dispatch. The enthusiasm generated by the discoveries and acquisitions of 1906-1908 created a momentum that led to early, and even immediate, publication. The first two Greek "Finds," the Aramaic texts, the Byzantine Patermouthis archive, and a dozen or so demotic documents fared best. Texts acquired individually, particularly those bought in the early part of the 1 9 t h century when their various scripts or contents were not adequately understood, either received inadequate transcription or lay around for decades before being published. Such a fate also befell the Berlin demotic papyri.

All the Aramaic documents were published with translation and substantial commentary. Julius Euting published the Strasbourg Aramaic papyrus three/four years after its discovery (1898-1899, 1903); Eduard Sachau published all the Rubensohn Aramaic finds four years after their discovery (1907, 1911); Emil G. Kraeling published the Brooklyn Museum papyri six years after they reached him, but sixty years after their discovery (1893, 1947, 1953); Edda Bresciani published the Padua letters some 145 years after their discovery (1815-19, 1960); and Bresciani and Murad Kamil published the Hermopolis letters twenty-one years after their discovery (1945, 1966). In 1923 Arthur Ernest Cowley brought together all the then known Aramaic papyri (eighty-seven items in all) in a single volume with English translation and brief commentary. 6 7 For thirty years, until the publication of the Brooklyn documents, Cowley was synonymous with Aramaic papyri. Since 1986 a new edition of these documents, with handcopy made at source and English and Hebrew translation, is being produced by Bezalel Porten and Ada Yardeni. 6 8 All Aramaic texts herein are cited according to this edition. Fragmentary texts, lists, accounts, literary, and historical texts have not been included.

The first demotic papyrus in this collection to be published was P. Dodgson, by Eugene Revillout in 1883 and Francis Llewellyn Griffith in 1909. 6 9 In the course of

Atti delta Accademia Nazionale del Lincei. Memorie. Classe di Scienze morali, storiche e filologiche VIII/XII (Rome, 1966), 361-428 = TAD A2.1-7 (Bl-7).

6 6 P.J. Sijpesteijn, The Wisconsin Papyri I (Leiden, 1967) = P. Wise. 114 (D13).

5 7 Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C. (Oxford, 1923).

6 8 Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt Newly Copied, Edited and Translated into

Hebrew and English (Department of the History of the Jewish People, Hebrew University. Jerusalem, 1986, 1989, 1993), I (= TAD A), II (= TAD B), III (= TAD C).

6 9 E. Revillout, TSBA 8 (1883), Iff; F. LI. Griffith, PSBA 31 (1909), 100-109, 289-291.


fifty years only some twenty demotic papyri from the Berlin excavations were published, by Wilhelm Spiegelberg and Wolja Erichsen. The former edited, with translation and commentary, thirteen Rubensohn papyri a year or two after their discovery (1906/1907, 1908) 7 0 and three more Berlin papyri as well as P. Loeh twenty years later (1926, 1928). Erichsen published six Berlin papyri in the years 1939, 1941, 1950, 1955, and 1957. 7 1 But the person who was to be for the Elephantine demotic papyri what Cowley had been for the Aramaic papyri was Karl-Theodor Zauzich. In 1971 he issued a catalogue itemizing 333 Berlin demotic papyri, 7 2 twenty of which he subsequently published with translation and brief commentary in 1978 7 3 and another twenty-nine in 1993. 7 4 The four non-Berlin pieces were published in the dozen years between 1962 and 1974, many decades after their original discovery the Padua papyrus by Edda Bresciani (1819, 1962), 7 5 the two Vienna papyri by Erichsen and Erich Liiddeckens (1899, 1963 and 1965), 7 6 and the Moscow papyrus by Michel Malininc (1909, 1974). 7 7 Our collection includes two of Spiegelberg's early texts (the rest did not derive from Elephantine), the eight subsequently published by Spiegelberg and Erichsen, the twenty in Zauzich's first publication, and the six held by libraries and museums other than Berlin. With the exception of P. Dodgson, all of these thirty-seven texts appear here for the first time in English translation, with original commentary.

As indicated, most of the texts that emerged during the fecund years 1906-1908 received early publication the first two major finds of Greek papyri by Rubensohn a year after their discovery, with introduction and commentary, but no translation (1906-1907); 7 8 the Munich half of the Patermouthis archive by August Heisenberg and Leopold Wenger six years after its acquisition, with translation and full commentary (1908, 1914); 7 9 the British Museum half by Harold Idris Bell ten years after its acquisition, with textual notes and no translation (1907, 1917). 8 0 A Rubensohn fragment was published by Sachau in 1911 and then by Friedrich Preisigke in 1915. 8 1 The three Abd el-Megid texts from Berlin were published in 1922 by W. Schubart and E. Kiihn 8 2 and two from the 1907-1908 Zucker campaign were not published until 1980, by William Brashear. 8 3 The other eight papyri are distributed

7 0 Demotische Papyrus von der Insel Elephantine I (Leipzig, 1908).

7 1 For easy refernce to all these publications see K.-Th. Zauzich, Demotische Papyri aus den Staatliche

Museen zu Berlin (Berlin, 1978), I, page ix (= DPI I). 7 2

E. Liiddeckens and K.-Th. Zauzich, Agyptische Handschriften (Wiesbaden, 1971). 7 3

DPI I. 7 4

DPI III. 1 5

RSO 37 (1962), 161-165 (C22). 7 6

(C28-29). 7 7

RdE 26(1974), 34-51 = P. Moscow 135 (C30). 7 8

Elephantine-Papyri (Berlin. 1907) = P. Eleph. 1-5 (D2-6). 7 9

Byzantinische Papyriin der K. Hof- und Staatsbihliothek zu Miinchen (Leipzig, 1914; 2 n d edition by Dieter Hagedorn. Stuttgart, 1986.) = P. Munch 1-16 (D20-21, 23. 29 ,31 , 33-36, 40 ,43 , 4548) .

80Greek Papyri in the British Museum, Catalogue, with Texts V (London, \9\1) = P. London V 1720-1737 plus many fragments (D20,22-27, 30, 32-42.44,49-52).

8 1 5B 15111 (D7)

8 2 BGU VI 1247 = P. Berlin 11307 (D8). 1248 =11306 (D9), 1249 = 11309 (D10).

8 3 P. Berlin 21690 = BGU XIV 2378 (DID, P. Berlin 21738 = BGU XIV 2418 (D16).


among four cities and were published one by one, some shortly after their discovery and others years later and often reedited the Strasbourg papyrus by Preisigke, with commentary but no translation; ([discovery date unknown] 1912); 8 4 five in Paris, two of the Clermont-Ganneau papyri at the Academie des Inscriptions by A. Bataille (1907-1908, 1950-51 [commentary and translation]), 8 5 one from the Reinach collection in the Sorbonne by P. Collart (1901/1902, 1940 [brief commentary and translation]), 8 6 one in the Bibliotheque Nationale, first by M. Saint-Martin a year after its acquisition (1821-1822) and then again over forty years later by Jean Antoine Letronne and others (18 65) , 8 7 and P. Edmonstone in a lithographic facsimile by Thomas Young (1819, 1828) and restudied from a new photograph by Roger S. Bagnall and Klaas A. Worp (1978); 8 8 the Wisconsin papyrus by P.J. Sijpesteijn (1926, 1967 [commentary and translation]); 8 9 and the Leiden papyrus (bought 1828) by a series of scholars (1828; 1850-51, 1885, 1888, 1901), culminating in the detailed study by D. Feisel and K.A. Worp (1988). 9 0

The hieratic papyri waited longest for their publication. It took 100-115 years for the Turin pieces from the Drovetti Collection to be properly published one by Thomas Eric Peer 9 1 and two by Jaroslav Cerny (1824, 1924, 1939). 9 2 P. Valengay was published almost ninety years after its initial acquisition, by Sir Alan Gardiner (1862-63, 1951). 9 3 The Butehamun letters were published almost eighty years after their acquisition, by Spiegelberg (1817-18, 1895). 9 4 The Clermont-Ganneau papyrus did not appear until seventy years after its discovery (1907, 1978), when it was published by Paule Posener-Krieger, 9 5 and the Berlin medical papyrus fragment waited more than sixty-five years for its publication by Wolfhart Westendorff (1906-1908, 1974). 9 6 Three pieces that had long lain idle were published by Paul C. Smither one right after the other, two posthumously the Middle Kingdom "Semna Despatches" almost fifty years after their discovery (1898, 1945); 9 7 a Berlin letter, initially transcribed by Georg C.J. Moller, forty-six years after purchase (1896; 1911,

Griechische Papyrus der kaiserlichen Universitats- und Landesbihliothek zu Strasshurg (Leipzig, 1912), 220-224 = P. Stras. I 79 ( D l l ) .

8 5 A. Bataille, .UP 4 (1950), 327-339 = SB VI 9227+9228 (D15); idem, Aegyptus 31 (1951) = SB VI 9230

(D17). 8 6

BIFAO 39 (1940) = P. Rein. II 107 (D28). 87

Notices et textes des papyrus du Muse du Louvre et de la Bibliotheque Imperials (Paris, 1865) = /*. Paris 17 (D14).

8 8 Hieroglyphics: Collected by the Egyptian Society II (London, 1828), PI. 46; BASP 15 (1978), 235-236

(D18). 8 9

P.J. Sijpesteijn, The Wisconsin Papyri I (Leiden, 1967) = P. Wise. I 14 (D13). 9 0

D. Feissel and K.A. Worp, OMRO 68 (1988), 97-108 = P. Leiden Z (D19). 9 1

JEA 10 (1924), 116-127 = P. Turin 1887 (A5). 92Late Ramesside Letters. 2-5, 7-8 = P. Turin 1972-1973 (A7-8). 9 3

RdE 6(1951), 115-124 (A6). 9 4

Correspondences du temps des rois-pretres in Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Nationale 34/2 (Paris, 1895), 52-53 = P. Bibliotheque Nationale 196,111 (A9).

9 5 JEA 64 (1978), 84-87 = P. Louvre E. 27151 (A4).

9 6 In Festschrift zum 150 jahrigen Bestehen des Berliner Agyptischen Museums (Berlin, 1974), 247-254 =

P. Berlin 10456 (A10). 9 1

JEA 31 (1945), 3-10 = P. BM 10752, rt. 4 (A3).


obligation. 1 1 8 The usual height/width of the scrolls from which these pieces were cut varied with the period. The normal height of the papyrus roll in the New Kingdom (and earlier) was ca. 42 cm. 1 1 9 One of our early hieratic texts was 41 c m 1 2 0 while all the others were 18-22 cm, that is the size of a half scroll. The four earliest Greek papyri were also written on sheets from large scrolls of 35-42 cm. 1 2 1 During the Persian period demotic and some Aramaic letters measured 27-28 c m 1 2 2 but most of the Aramaic letters and contracts were written on sheets averaging 32 cm. This was the average of the Byzantine Patermouthis documents as well. The demotic contracts, with one exception, and the Ptolemaic demotic letters followed a different tradition. Both were written parallel to the fibers, the letters on thin strips averaging 6-8 cm width from rolls of 32-38 cm height and the contracts in a single column on sheets that varied between 26 c m 1 2 3 and 220 c m 1 2 4 wide, with a variety of heights as well. The exception is a double document. 1 2 5 Written perpendicular to the fibers like the four early Greek double documents, it came from a scroll of 22 cm, i.e. about half the size of those Greek documents.

Away from Home Wisdom and Encouragement Our collection opens with a single Old Kingdom letter written by a court nobleman to the Troop Commander iimy-n ms^). This title recurs in the Aramaic papyri of the fifth century B C E 0?Tt m ) 1 2 6 and, with variation, in the Ptolemaic demotic papyri (hry-msi).ni Elephantine/Syene thus appear throughout as military garrisons. A sapiential sheen shines through the Old Kingdom writer's censorious remarks about the machinations of a local rival "Better is i t . . . to love the justified than the continually crooked." 1 2 8 Nuggets of wisdom are also to be found in a stylish Ptolemaic letter "He says things with his mouth which are not in his heart . . . there is no man except a man with his brother." 1 2 9 It is the soldiers of these border fortresses who figure prominently in the Jewish Aramaic and Christian Byzantine papyri and virtually the only literary composition to turn up among the Aramaic documents was the wisdom piece, The Words of Ahiqar.m

Border problems recurred continuously in the Old Kingdom letter, in a collection of Middle Kingdom military despatches, in an Achaemenid demotic letter,

1 1 8 P. Lond V.1720 (D24), 1719 (D26), 1721 (D27); P. Rein. II 107 (D28); P. Lond. V.1723 (D30); P.

Munch. 3 (D33), 10 (D43); P. Lond. V.1736 (D51), 1737 (D52). 1 1 9

J. Cerny, JEA 31 (1945), 30, n. 5. 1 2 0

P. Turin 1887 (A5). 1 2 1

P. Eleph. l-4(D2-5) . 1 2 2

TAD A4.1 (B13); P. Berlin 13540 (CI), 13572 (C2), 13539 (C3); P. Loeb 1 (C4). 1 2 3

P. Berlin 13534(C34). 1 2 4

P. Moscow 135 (C30). 1 2 5

P. Berlin 13535 + 23677 (C32). 1 2 6

TAD A4.3:3 (B15), 4.7:7 (B19), 4.8:6 (B20); B2.9:5 (B31), 2.10:2,4 (B32), 3.9:2-3 (B42). 1 2 7

P. Berlin 13538.16 (C16). 1 2 8

P. Berlin 8869 (Al) . 1 2 9

P. Berlin 13544.15-17, 26-27 (C17). 1 OA

Not included in this collection.

INTRODUCTION 13

in a fragmentary Ptolemaic letter, and in a Byzantine petition. A request by a few starving Nubians to enter into Pharaoh's service was denied; 1 3 1 a complaint addressed to the Persian governor of Tshetres ("The Southern Land") asserted that lax transportation procedures enabled brigands to make off with grain; 1 3 2 an official reported to Ptolemy the defensive measures he was taking against an Ethiopian siege; 1 3 3 and bishop Appion complained to emperors Theodosius and Valentinianus of the failure of the army to protect church property from the incursions of the Blemmyes and Nobadae. 1 3 4 The Aramaic Makkibanit letters between soldiers on duty in Memphis and their families in Luxor and Syene echo the hieratic correspondence from the reign of Ramesses XI at the end of the Twentieth Dynasty between Thutmose (and a companion), writing from Elephantine and on campaign in Nubia, to his son Butehamun in Thebes; and these in turn are echoed by a second century Roman period letter. In a smooth blend of public matters and private affairs the New Kingdom correspondents urged and lamented: "give your attention to the small children ... do not be anxious about me ... give your attention to the men of the army; 1 3 5 [write] me about your condition, whether good or bad ... [I do not] sleep either night or day, my heart longing for you; 1 3 6 you shall look after the children; do not do wrong to them." 1 3 7 Six centuries later, Makkibanit and Nabusha wrote to their family in Upper Egypt: "do not be concerned about us ... we are concerned about you; 1 3 8 and what is this that a letter you have not dispatched to me?! ; 1 3 9 I am relying upon you; do look after those children." 1 4 0 Seven centuries latter, a man wrote to his brother in a Greek letter, "All in the family and those with us are faring well. Watch over (5 named persons) and all the rest ." 1 4 1 Leaving home on military duty created anxieties in all ages. Those away from home prayed for safe reunion and called upon their correspondents to do likewise. "I blessed you by Ptah that he may let me behold your face in peace," wrote the Aramean soldier stationed in Memphis to his family in Syene. 1 4 2 A father on campaign in Nubia in the late New Kingdom wrote to his son back in Thebes, "Please tell Amun (and) the gods of the Temple to bring me back alive from the war also." 1 4 3 The second century C E correspondent preferred self-help to prayer "You would most of all bestow (a favor on us) by taking care of your life in order that we may embrace a healthy you . 1 4 4 As the Aramean Makkibanit reiterated the assurance "do not be concerned" so the Ptolemaic Khnum devotee Pau-

1 3 1 P. British Museum 10752, r. col. 4 (A3).

1 3 2 P. Loeh 1 (C4).

1 3 3 SB I 5111 (D7).

1 3 4 P. Leid. Z (D19).

1 3 5 P. Turin 1972 (A7).

1 3 6 P. Turin 1973 (A8).

1 3 7 P. Bibliotheque Nationale 196,111 (A9).

1 3 8 TAD A2.1:7-8 (Bl) .

1 3 9 TAD A2.5:7-8 (B5).

1 4 0 TAD A2.7:2-3 (B7).

1 4 1 BGU XIV 2418.14-19 (D16).

1 4 2 See on TAD A2A:2 (Bl) .

1 4 3 P. Turin 1972.17-18 (AT).

1 4 4 BGU XIV 2418.11 -13 (D16).


djaemtoues repeatedly cautioned against the heart being "bitter." 1 4 5 In the second half of the 3 r d century C E Ktesia availed herself of a discarded Latin list of soldiers to write on the back a Greek letter to her husband at home in Elephantine, mentioning the children, registering requests, and concluding with "I pray for your good health." 1 4 6

Boats and Boatmen

The natural means of transportation of people and cargo to and from Elephan-tine/Syene was by Nile boat 1 4 7 and boatmen figure prominently throughout our documents. The skilled pilot who navigated the rapids of the cataract region was called "boatman of the (rough) waters" (fcOWj? X 'B) in Aramaic 1 4 8 and "boatman of the bad water" (mw byn) in demotic. 1 4 9 Of the eight demotic contracts in our collection, one (concerning matrimonial property) was drawn up in 537 B C E by the cataract boatman Hapertais. Other titles encountered were "boat's captain" (Egyptian hry wsh),150 "boatman" (Aramaic rf?n),"boatman (valine,) of Syene" 1 5 1 or "boatman ( N

INTRODUCTION 15

Patermouthis archive. 1 6 0 One document in that archive shows that selling a sizable boat was like selling a house, and the price was much the same. 1 6 1 The archive concludes with two documents showing that the aged Patermouthis had taken loans from the boatman Ioannes son of Pituron. 1 6 2

Government and temple were also involved in the shipping business. The government both owned boats and taxed transport. During the Achaemenid period there were boats in the hands of Persians Mithradates the "boatholder" ( X f i S U ) 1 6 3 and Armantidata the boat's "master" (ma), the latter sharing ownership with Spenta-data. 1 6 4 The actual running of the boats was carried out by Egyptians Psamsineit in the first instance and Hori and Petemachis in the latter. The repair of such a government boat was an involved bureaucratic procedure that entailed correspondence back and forth with the satrap Arsames. The boat-transport tax was a staple source of revenue and in a Coptic ostracon, Makarios acknowledged that he owed the praepositus eight carats for this tax, called naulon, and for the diplon.165 One of Egypt's well-known scandals involved a skipper in the employ of the temple of Khnum during the days of Ramesses III-V (ca. 1150 B C E ) . Formerly a merchant and superintendent of the carriers of gold, Khnumnakht was charged with transporting grain from holdings in the north to the Elephantine temple. While doing so, he was accused of conniving with the scribes, inspectors and cultivators of the House of Khnum to embezzle annually for a dozen years large quantities of grain and of committing other felonious acts . 1 6 6

Authority Comes from Above Under the Persians Egypt was ruled by a satrap and his tasks included appointment of the lesonis (demotic mr-sn), an important temple administrative official. The Khnum priests were rebuked by Pherendates for proposing candidates whose qualifications did not meet the regulations laid down by Dar ius . 1 6 7 In the third century B C E it was the chief of the Thebaid who bore responsibility for this appointment and the governor of Tshetres was in a position to further a particular person's candidature in return for handsome payment. 1 6 8 In the earlier period it was the Vizier who acted as the representative of Pharaoh and one of the charges leveled against the Khnum priests during the time of Ramesses V involved their efforts to undo the appointment by the Vizier Neferrenpet of Bakenkhonsu as prophet of Khnum. 1 6 9 This same Pharaoh would send his Overseer of the Treasury, Khaemtir, to inspect the

D28-52. P.Munch. 4 (D34). P. Lond. V 1736-1737 (D51-52). TAD A6.2::2 ( B l l ) . 7VIDA3.10:2(B12). KSB I 035 (E10). P. Turin 1887v I-II(A5). P. Berlin 13540 (CI) , 13539 (C3). P. Berlin 13543 ( C l l ) . P. Turin 1887.1.12-14 (A5).


Treasury of the House of Khnum 1 7 0 while the Persian Darius instructed the satrap Arsames about the Jewish observance of Passover. 1 7 1 In the Late Middle Kingdom or Second Intermediate Period the Vizier Amenemhet directed the Reporter of Elephantine Heqaib in the procedures necessary for the title transfer of a slave-woman 1 7 2 and in like fashion the satrap Arsames wrote through his Jewish Chancellor Anani a detailed letter to an Egyptian official at Elephantine about the repair of a boat . 1 7 3 Taxes were a natural source of contention between the central and local authorities. In a late Twentieth Dynasty letter mayor Meriunu of Elephantine vehemently rejected two tax demands by the Chief Tax Collector. 1 7 4 But a half-century earlier, a temple official in Karnak complained to then mayor Mentuherkhepeshef about the despatch from him of bad quality honey. 1 7 5 This same mayor was also accused of accepting a bribe in the indictment against the Khnum priests. 1 7 6 In their travails with these priests centuries later the Elephantine Jews complained that they were bested because the Egyptians proffered bribes. 1 7 7 As intimated, money, promised in writing and paid in installments, could buy one a priestly office. 1 7 8

The Banalities of Khnum Some twenty letters between one Khnum priest and another grace our collection from early in Persian rule (492 B C E ) 1 7 9 to early in Roman rule (11 C E ) . 1 8 0 For 500 years these priests and their companions were writing back and forth and it is as if the topics were timeless. First and foremost was the problem of grain brigands threatened a government delivery in 492; 1 8 1 ca. 230 B C E 256 artabas of barley were removed from the houses of Khnum servants because they should not have been there in the first place; 1 8 2 ca. 216 or 199 the chief of the Thebaid wrote the lesonis to collect the emmer tax on the basis of last year's crop survey; 1 8 3 an undated private Ptolemaic letter requested barley, bread, and emmer and gave the price of wheat as 4 i kite per artaba. 1 8 4 Then there were questions of money a promise to pay 2 k i te 1 8 5 and a denial on oath of the receipt of 4 kite, 1 8 6 both small amounts. Primarily,

V . Turin 1887.11.1 (A5). 1 TADA4A (B13).

2 P. Berlin 10470 (A2).

3 TAD A6.2 ( B i t ) .

4 P. Valengay II (A6).

5 P. Louvre E 27151 (A4).

6 P. Turin 1887.vsI.2-3 (A5).

7 TAD A4.2:4 (B14).

8 P. Berlin 13543 ( C l l ) .

9 P. Berlin 13572 (C2).

0 P. Berlin 15518 (C23).

;1 P. Loeb 1 (C4).

2 P. Berlin 13619 (C7)

13 P. Berlin 15522 (C12).

4 P. Padua 1-7 (C22).

15 P. Berlin 15609 (C21).

6 P. Berlin 13587 (C19).


the letters concerned personal matters a report that nothing was the matter with the young ones and the men; 1 8 7 instructions to look after PN upon his arrival; 1 8 8 advice not to get overwrought in a personal quarrel; 1 8 9 and a request to consult the oracle on the choice of a spouse. 1 9 0 Affairs of the Temple were mentioned infrequently Paudjaemtoues reported the orders of the prophet of Khnum not to interfere with the temple-domain of Khnum. 1 9 1 Unique were the one-line question posed to Khnum, "If a wab-priest is the one who took away the money (in) year 6, let this letter be brought to m e " 1 9 2 and the sixty-nine line judgment mediated by the deified Espememt-son-of-Khnum: "Offending the god (is) what you have done." 1 9 3 Only one or two references were of historical import the mission of a waft-priest sent to Alexandria to present garlands before Pharaoh (Ptolemy IV) on the first anniversary of his victory at Raphia on June 22, 217 over Antiochus I I I 1 9 4 and mention of damage to temples and flight southward, which may recall the rebellion at the time of Ptolemy V, with the letter being dated April 23, 187 B C E . 1 9 5

The Evil of Khnum Khnum himself was depicted as an active agent the Jewish scribe Mauziah wrote to his colleague Jedaniah "that Khnum is against us since Hananiah has been in Egypt" 1 9 6 whereas Paudjaemtoues was convinced that "Khnum did not cause them [= evil things] to arrive by his hand." 1 9 7 The most remarkable New Kingdom document, dating to the time of Ramesses IV and V, is a detailed indictment of certain Khnum priests and boatmen for engaging in acts of violence and large-scale and continuous embezzlement in collusion with scribes and inspectors. 1 9 8 It is the latter-day descendants of these priests who connived with the local Persian governor to destroy the Jewish Temple. Rough fellows they were!

Khnum vs YHW the Jews (and others) Come and Go It was in the first of these five centuries of static priestly comings and goings that we find the most dramatic events in Elephantine's 3000 years of papyrologically

1 8 7 P. Berlin 13579.X+13-14 (C10).

1 8 8 P. Berlin 13579.X+15-16 (CIO).

1 8 9 P. Berlin 13544.11-28 (CI7).

1 9 0 P. Berlin 13538.25-33 (CI 6).

1 9 1 P. Berlin 13619.4-6 (CI).

1 9 2 P. Berlin 13584 (C25).

1 9 3 P. Dodgson 10(C26).

1 9 4 P. Berlin 13565 (C13).

1 9 5 P. Berlin 15527 (C15). To be sure, the topics surveyed by K.-Th. Zauzich in his overview of the 330

Elephantine demotic papyri (E. V a n ' t Dack, P. Van Dessel and W. Van Gucht, eds., Egypt and the Hellenistic World [Leuven, 1983], 421-435) are more numerous than those synopsized on the basis of the twenty published texts here reproduced, but I do not think that full publication will affect the basic thesis that the material is essentially timeless and ahistorical.

1 9 6 TAD A4.3:7 (B15).

1 9 7 P. Berlin 13579. x+3-4 (CIO).

1 9 8 P. Turin 1887 (A5).


documented history. Between 495 and 399 B C E there is evidence for a Jewish garrison with a full-size Temple right next to a shrine of Khnum. 1 9 9 Egypt under Persia was a cosmopolitan country. In the Elephantine fortress alone there were Babylonians, Bactrians, Caspians, Khwarezmians, Medes, and Persians besides Arameans and Jews. As the Jews had their shrine to YHW the Arameans had shrines on Syene to Banit, Bethel, Nabu, and the Queen of Heaven. On the basis of onomastic data, the Arameans and Egyptians intermingled easily. The Jews shunned Egyptian names but the prime figure in a family archive, Mib/ptahiah daughter of Mahseiah had an Egyptian husband, Eshor son of Djeho. 2 0 0 Though the Jewish shrine was established with Pharaonic authorization and probably subsidy and its existence was confirmed by the Persian conquerors, in the last decades of the century it found itself in conflict with the Khnum priests to the point where they bribed the local Persian Chief (frataraka) to allow them to destroy it in 410 . 2 0 1 Though permission was sought, and may have been granted, to rebuild i t , 2 0 2 the colony disappeared from sight shortly thereafter as suddenly as it had appeared. It left no traces in any transmitted historical texts. In the land of the unchanging the dramatic proved to be evanescent.

Blending of Legal Traditions The language, religion, and names of the Jews differed from their Egyptian neighbors, but their legal procedures and formulary bear striking similarity. Though we cannot yet explain the phenomenon of "Who gave to w h o m ? " 2 0 3 we must conclude that in matters legal the Jews and Arameans fit into their Egyptian environment rather snugly. Whereas the demotic contracts constitute a little over 20% of the thirty-seven demotic texts here published, the Aramaic contracts constitute almost 60% of the total Aramaic selection of fifty-two documents. If thirty documents are ample material to ascertain schemata and verify formulae, eight may not be, particularly if they are of different types. Comparison, nonetheless, shows how much the demotic and Aramaic conveyances had in common. Both followed an identical schema an objective framework (Date, Par